Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty has declined to seek a 3rd term, prompting speculation that he's planning to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. Wouldn't it be strange if Pawlenty's presidential ambitions had something to do with his decision to veto a bill that would stop police from arresting terminally ill medical marijuana patients? Does Pawlenty think that Americans want a president who supports arresting people who are about to die?
Someone should show him the polling data on medical marijuana. Is Pawlenty aware that an anti-medical marijuana candidate got crushed by a pro-medical marijuana candidate in the 2008 presidential election?
Opposing medical marijuana in any way is politically risky, but Pawlenty specifically turned his back on people who are dying. In today's political climate, that's a big mistake.
"Early on, when our research appeared as if there would be a negative impact on lung health, I was opposed to legalization because I thought it would lead to increased use and that would lead to increased health effects," Tashkin says. "But at this point, I'd be in favor of legalization. I wouldn't encourage anybody to smoke any substances. But I don't think it should be stigmatized as an illegal substance. Tobacco smoking causes far more harm. And in terms of an intoxicant, alcohol causes far more harm." [McClatchy]
UCLA's Tashkin studied heavy marijuana smokers to determine whether the use led to increased risk of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. He hypothesized that there would be a definitive link between cancer and marijuana smoking, but the results proved otherwise.
"What we found instead was no association and even a suggestion of some protective effect," says Tashkin, whose research was the largest case-control study ever conducted.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â
JUNE 1, 2009Â Â Â
After Making History in Senate, Medical Marijuana Bill Poised for House Floor Vote Later This Year
CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS -- Although the clock ran out before it could be acted on by the Illinois House of Representatives this weekend, medical marijuana legislation is now well positioned for a House floor vote, possibly before the end of the year, advocates said today.
    Within 48 hours of passing the Senate 30-28, the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act had already soared through the House Human Services Committee and was ready for its final reading and vote on the House floor. Tax legislation, however, occupied all of the House's time in the session's final hours.
    "This bill gained more and more momentum at every stage of the legislative process, and I think the pace at which it moved is testament to the support it enjoys," said Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), deputy majority leader and chief House sponsor of SB 1381. "Although today's top priority was the tax bill, I think the time has come for Illinois to enact a medical marijuana law. We just need to shore up a few votes before calling this bill to the floor."
    The measure could be brought to the House floor for a vote during the November veto session or when the General Assembly reconvenes in January 2010 for the second half of the current session.
    "Of course I'm disappointed," said Jamie Clayton of Grafton, an AIDS patient who participated in a groundbreaking FDA-approved study proving medical marijuana's efficacy in treating pain caused by nerve damage. "But the fact remains that we made it further than ever before. Hundreds of patients like myself came forward this year to plead with our legislators to enact this law, and we will not give up, ever. As someone who volunteered for a clinical study that proved the benefits of medical marijuana, I've felt the relief it can provide first-hand and learned how it can allow me to cut back on some of the prescription narcotics I have to take. A lot of people need this law, and we're not going away."
    With more than 27,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.
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The students at the High Point Elementary & Adolescent Schools were greeted two special visitors who landed an Army National Guard helicopter on the school's baseball field in May.
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Once the dust had settled and the rotor had stopped spinning, students were invited to get an up close look at the Kiowa, which is equipped with counter drug equipment for surveillance and heat sensing. Officer Chiaco explained that observation helicopters like these help fight the war on drugs by assisting the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and local police departments with counter drug operations. [Ashbury Park Press]